Uti infection

Newtothis1February 16, 2013

Over the past few months my 8 year old St. Bernard has had what appears to be a uti infection. She has been treated with antibiotics baytril, clavamox, and cephalexin, to no avail. I was told she has a recessed vulva, and surgery would be our next option. I asked why after 8 years is this now a problem, and was told good question but we don't have an answer. Well 3 weeks later we are back to square one. She has ulcerated privates and a foul Oder. Ps she has been seen by 3 different vets. Thanks for any thoughts Chris

Are you certain that they did a urinary CULTURE and not just a urinalysis? If they did do a culture, did they acquire a sterile urine sample by cystocentesis for the culture? If she has not had a culture done on a sample collected by cystocentesis, I recommend having that done ASAP.

Thanks everyone for your help. Laurie On jan 9th vsec did Culture & MIC- urine the cost was 161.88 for the test, and a complete Urinalysis for 46.79. I am not sure what that means. On jan 24 I went for a second opinion and the bill says canine wellness profile-chem, CBC, Hwag- They both said recessed vulva and recommend a vulvoplasty.

Looks like the first vet did a urine culture, though you'd have to call that vet and ask if the urine was collected through cystocentesis to know the answer to that. The second vet's billing doesn't identify any type of urine testing. The chem, CBC, and Hwag are all blood tests.

I'm afraid I have no experience with or knowledge of recessed vulva or vulvoplasty, but it sounds like that's an option you should research. If you do decide to have that surgery done, I strongly recommend you choose a surgical clinic with plenty of successful experience with that specific surgical procedure AND a clinic that is fully equipped with monitoring equipment to keep your old girl safe while under anesthesia. Just because a vet offers to do the surgery doesn't necessarily mean that they have the experience or skill to perform it properly or the monitoring equipment necessary to safely anesthetize your dog.

I'm assuming they think the recessed vulva is causing her to be unusually susceptible to a uti? If this is correct, I know a great natural cure for most uti's. It's called D-mannose and is a sugar that's derived from cranberries. Most uti's are caused by e-coli bacteria. D-mannose binds to e-coli and takes it away during urination. It's completely safe for humans and dogs and I've both taken it myself and given it to my dog. It works faster than antibiotics in most cases and I've read of people who had success with repeat infections that had been resistant to antibiotics.

My thinking is you could try it and see if it helps if this is the only problem caused by the recessed vulva. D-mannose won't cure infections caused by any bacteria other than e-coli, but in humans they account for 93% of infections. I don't know the percentage for dogs. You can buy it in the health food store and I've read that the powder is better than the capsules. It tastes good and you can sprinkle it on the dog's food.

I've linked to one article below, but there are many more on the internet about it. Not all health food stores carry it, so I would call first if you decide to try it.

I knew the surgery was not the answer but what do I know. I have been to 2 regular vets, 1 holistic vet, and 2 specialty care vets. Today she went back to the surgeon who did the vulvoplasty for a skin and punch biopsy, so I can only hope she has a crazy bacteria that is resistant to the 3 antibiotics she has been on since November. Very frustrated and feel horrible for my dog who is in pain. Thanks for all the advice, Chris

I am sooo sorry for what you and your dog are going through. I've lost two animals to cancer in the last 6 mos and have had a malignant tumor removed from the leg of another one a couple of months ago. Cancer is frequently mis- or undiagnosed. We want to believe that these things are obvious and easily identified, but that's often not the case.

What you need now is information, and that's what the oncologist will provide. You need to know the prognosis and the treatment/management options so that you can make an informed decision about how to proceed from here. In addition to your local vet and oncologist, I recommend seeking a second opinion from another oncologist to help insure that you are acquiring as much information about your options as possible

When my animals were diagnosed, I contacted the Colorado State University Animal Cancer Center. They offer free telephone consults with a veterinary oncologist. You can email or fax copies of all of your dog's lab and pathology reports (and xrays or other tests, if you have them) to the center so that the oncologist has an opportunity to review your dog's records before the consult. The more information and test results you can provide beforehand, the more relevant and helpful the consult. If you decide to do this, make sure you write down all of your questions so that you don't forget to ask anything during the call. I will provide a link to the cancer center below.

You have my deepest sympathy. I know what it's like to think you're fixing one problem, only to find out that it wasn't what you thought it was, but was, tragically, much worse.

Take a deep breath. Take several. Try to get a sound night's sleep so that you can approach this with a fresh focus in the morning. You have some tough decisions ahead.

If this is bladder cancer, many types are treated with a type of chemotherapy that's run into the bladder and fights it directly. It causes irritation, but generally not as many side effects as other kinds of chemo.

In humans, bladder removal is a last resort, but I'm not sure they can do that with a dog. Maybe that's why they said it's inoperable.

We saw the oncologist today and she put her back on baytril and piroxicam. She feels the cancer resulted from her vulva issues and cronic inflammation. She did a abdominal ultrasound to see if the disease spread and it was clean. She also did more blood work. So I am back to square one, and totally confused.